Fresnatic (Back and catching up!)'s photostream  

My Website: www.davidrironsjrphotography.com

Hello and welcome to my photostream. I appreciate the time you have taken to find out a little more about me. I used to use photography as a way of recording the places that I visited, so that I could share that visual record with friends and family.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, beauty abounds everywhere you look! It does not matter if it crystal clear or pouring down rain, there is always something to photograph! My passion is for lighthouses. I am enthralled by their beautiful architecture, the history of why it was built, the stories of the keepers who lived there and the beauty of the lighthouse's location. I am blessed that there is so much natural beauty in the Pacific Northwest and am also blessed that I have the ability to share it with you.

You might wonder how I arrived at my screen name? Fresnel lenses (pronounced "Fray - nel"), are the beautiful "Jewels" of the lighthouse. They are the lens that magnifies the light from a little light bulb, into a concentrated beam of light, so that mariners can navigate around dangerous obstacles near the coast. I am also somewhat a "Fanatic" about my passion for lighthouses. Their history, construction, technology, lighthouse keepers and even the romance attributed to these "Guiding Lights." So combine "Fresnel and Fanatic" and I arrived at Fresnatic.

I have posted some of my older photos taken with a Canon Power Shot as I was always taking photos of lighthouses and landscapes. I met a fellow flickerite, www.flickr.com/photos/surrealize/, at the West Point Lighthouse located in Seattle, Washington. We got to talking and he asked if I had ever heard of HDR photography, and I responded with a no. Here was a pro with all of this neat camera gear, and little ole me with a "Point and Click," and I had no idea what he was talking about. He explained what HDR photography was and encouraged me to look at his photo stream on Flickr. So I got home and looked up his photo stream and was blown away by the color and definition of HDR. So I immediately outgrew the capabilities of my little camera and went out and bought the best camera that I could afford at the time, a Canon Rebel XSI. I am now one of those photogs out there lugging around a tripod and backpack full of gear and loving every minute of it! You will see a mix of HDR and regular shots through my photo stream.

I approach most of my shots with the mind set of "Would this look good in a collage or as a giant 60"X40" canvas print hung above a fireplace?" I use the software to clean up artifacts and to create an artistic print. To date, I have never replaced a sky or placed artifacts into my images. I tend to wait for the perfect shot, and sometimes that also means I may travel to a location numerous times before I get that "Perfect" shot! But that is some of the fun of photography.

I also use the software to create a digital painting, especially with HDR. I have left earlier HDR photos in my stream so that viewers can see the progression of my skills. I try and avoid the halo's and over baked feel that most HDR's seem to have, but that is because it is my personal taste. There are others that love that look and I respect that. I am also a color fanatic, so I may up the color just a bit, for a richer look. I want it to stand out when framed or when it is enlarged as a canvas.

I welcome any critiques of my photos and would like to know what was great about the photo, or what could have been done better. I would also like to thank you for taking the time to visit my photo stream.